Estimating Maximum Genetic Potential?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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This is my first post here so please don’t crucify me if I sin on this entry.
I’m 27 and have been actively lifting/bodybuilding for about 12 years. I currently weigh 235 and am 5’9 with 12-14% bodyfat. I Deadlift 500, squat 400 and bench 300… respectable but not worthy of bragging (its okay, i just want to look good nekkid), and I’ve been considering competing in the not too distant future.
Backstory (not super important)
As with most people’s early years of lifting, I messed up a lot early on and was clueless about most general knowledge topics… of course, I didn’t know of T-Nation at the time either :smirk:. Fast forward a few years and I weighed 230lbs and it was mostly fat until I enlisted. By the time I was done in Parris Island, I weighed 165lbs and was actually skinny (with a little muscle). From this point forward I will say I straigtened out my training and nutrition (mostly) and maintained anywhere from 8-12% bodyfat whilst improving my strength and getting more muscle-y. This ultimately plateau’d at me weighing 190lbs with about 8% bodyfat (not measured, but i had a well defined 6-pack). This was while I was enlisted and required to stay within a certain height/weight spectrum - i was a few pounds over but they tend to look the other way when you have a 6-pack.

I left the service in late 2018 at about 195lbs and really started making some significant progress in gaining muscle from here. I started messing with some SARMs (Rad140 and later YK11) for a little while and got myself up to about 220lbs and 10-12% BF by March, 2020.
sidebar: I STRONGLY recommend Rad140
The California gyms closed down and gym equipment was so damned expensive i’d need to sell blood and semen to pay for a couple of rusty 45s and a clapped-out barbell. Needless to say, I was benched for about 6 weeks until I found some hole-in-the-wall gym that was open. I had lost about 10 lbs during that time but regained it quickly; harnessing all the stress The Rona and government had provided for me - I quickly found myself up at 230lbs without any supplements but pre-workout and hatred.
Current (more important)
I currently weigh about 235 at about 12-14% body fat (I would give a more accurate % but BF calipers are really subjective) and I’m considering my path forward after nearly a decade of serious lifting. I’m going to make an excuse here so bare with me: I don’t have the time to dedicate myself to competing just yet… I work full-time with an hour drive to work, lift 5-6 days a week (about 1.5 hours per day), and I attend college full time while managing a wife and 5 year-old daughter/boss. I expect to finish school in about 18 months, and I think that relieves me of enough engagements to reasonably dedicate myself to competition prep.
Before you start, I KNOW ya’ll are going to tell me I need to lean out, I’m sorry - I just can’t shake the urge to pile nacho chips with cheese during late nights (joking, kind of).
Ultimately my question here is this: is there any reliable method to estimate one’s maximum genetic potential before they reach it?
Obviously for a gym newbie this would be impractical to attempt calculating, but for experienced lifters who are potentially close to their genetic max already?

TL;DR:
Anyone know a way to reasonably estimate one’s maximum genetic potential?

Update
So i went to take a shirtless selfie (the first in years) and realized a few things…

  1. im fatter than i remember myself being :sweat_smile:
  2. I need to follow the advice of the mirror, as in actually looking at myself in it
  3. I need to lean out and reassess my position on development

I am probably around 18-20% bodyfat at 228 (i re-weighed myself) and need to get down to about 210 or so before I can accurately gauge my figure and development. Thank you guys for immediately hurting my feelings (not really) after I opened myself up on the internet; I will be starting to log my macros, weight, and certain measurements - I may even do this via a new forum thread.

Will probably post pictures when I feel like I no longer look like shit in them :joy:
Again, thanks to all for helping me see myself more accurately!

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These are my long standing favorites!

No clue on genetic potential. Sorry.

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John Meadows’ Youtube channel had a video that provided 3 formulas for estimation a while back, but I believe that was without enhancement.

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How big are the Pythons?

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I don’t believe this without a picture (that is yolked AF). I am 5’10" 210, with a squat at 440, bench at 385, and deadlift at 600 and I am about 15% right now. I would assume that you are probably 10% higher (22-24% BF) based on your stats. Maybe you have absolutely trash genetics for strength? I kinda doubt it though.

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Would the FFMI (or what ever it is?) be useful-ish here?

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At 14% it is an FFMI of 30. I don’t think OP is even close, I have been proved wrong a time or two, but a 30 FFMI with just SARMs is crazy. It is crazy for someone blasting their face off.

The guys in the 50s who were winning BBing shows were all under 30 FFMI.

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:fried_egg: or :egg:?

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Agreed. Either dudes a solid candidate to go far in the IFBB or slightly off on body fat%

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If he is correct, he should try for a pro card. I think slightly off is pretty generous, it might be double what he thinks.

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Pictures speak a thousand words!

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Not for me. I’m often amazed at how utterly ordinary some great BBers look to me in pre-training photos. Dorian Yates comes to mind–if he had posted a pic and inquired as to his potential, I would have said ‘Sorry kid, I don’t think so.’

Of course, I also predicted in 1979 that home computers were a passing fad, so you can see I have a track record for judging potential.

Edit: Take the guy on the left below. If he had inquired about his genetic potential, I would have told him he would top out at city- or state-level shows–would have above-average wheels, but with his narrow shoulders and high lats…

image
image720×1280 47.4 KB

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Yeah I meant more in terms of understanding the current physique. Op could be a lean tank at those stats or be underestimating his fat levels.

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We have encountered this particular either/or many, many times on this website. Perhaps this will be the one time it turns out to be the either, not the or.

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These weights are pretty pedestrian for someone your weight
To be considered pretty strong you should be able to:
Bench press 1.5 times your bodyweight 5 reps (that is about 350lbs for 5 reps)
Squat and deadlift 2 times your bodyweight (that is 470lbs for 5 reps)

Get to 10 reps on these weights and that would be generally accepted as fairly strong.

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They were. Everybody uses their phones now! :rofl:

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I cant make promises as to the bodyfat % because again, calipers are subjective as fuck for measurements. Admittedly, I am probably slightly off, but I’ll wager less than 5%.

I did my best at estimating this in combination of BF calipers and visual references - which are also different at literally every website you look at (14% at one can be labelled 20% on another). Apologies for not wanting to shell out a few hundred to get displacement tested :grimacing:

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I mean I literally said they’re not worthy of bragging but thanks for the feedback…? Also, I lift all of these weights for 3 reps (1 rep could be a fluke) - still though, the numbers are pretty middle of the road.

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its all in the legs bro :joy: i got gams for days but my arms are meh by comparisson. I’ll try to post a pic later.

P.S. Strength and size are not synonomous, I train to look good - not lift heavy shit.

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They are too an extent. The real big guys are almost always strong. Maybe they don’t go pound for pound with a strength athlete, but they are strong. My favorite bodybuilders all had insane strength.

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